“It's nothing to get that worked up over, really,” Nakao jested
with Miller. “More than that, though, you ruined a perfect chance
for a kiss. Why are you wearing a mask today? What I want to know
is whether you'll be wearing that mask tomorrow during your
entrance?”

Playing into Nakao’s act, Miller said he would consider wearing his
mask to tomorrow's bout in order to avoid Nakao's misguided
affections on fight day.

Perennial class-clown and UFC veteran Akihiro Gono
also joked around by saying how good his behavior has been leading
up to his fight against Diego
Gonzalez.

“Like WVR's new president stated in his address, I myself am also
under new and healthy management. Since the summertime, I've given
up my night life and have not partied at all, devoting my time to
strict training and being healthy,” said Gono, likely factoring in
his February sojourn to American Kickboxing Academy as part of his
career renaissance.

Mamed
Khalidov, who defeated incumbent champion Jorge
Santiago at Sengoku 11 last November and will rematch him
Sunday for the title, said the bout is one of the most important of
his career.

“All the questions will be answered in the ring tomorrow,” said the
middleweight title challenger.

A calm but determined Santiago stated that he had no intention of
vacating the top spot in SRC's middleweight picture, however.

“I had a great camp, and I'm really excited to fight Mamed over
again and prove to everybody that I am the champ, that I'll be the
champ tomorrow and that I will keep the Sengoku middleweight
championship for a long time,” Santiago said.

The news conference was also highlighted by additional changes
occurring in the SRC and World Victory Road offices. Taking the
place that Takahiro Kokuho left upon his departure from World
Victory Road and Sengoku, Toru Mukai has stepped up as WVR's
president.

“The world economy has been very difficult for all of us. As for
all [MMA] events, we may not be in the best of positions now, but
thanks to the support of our sponsors and our related connections,
SRC has been able to make it to a third year,” said Mukai, who
reiterated hopes to see SRC become a fixture in the Asian MMA
sphere.

Thanks to the aforementioned sponsors and “related connections,”
Mukai stated that tickets were already sold out for Sunday's event.
Previously, Sengoku's unique sponsorship programs saw that a
majority of its tickets were sold to and distributed by the event's
sponsors.

Currently, the newest of these sponsors is Senko Co. Ltd. As
reported by Japanese sports newspaper Nikkan Sports, Senko
contributed 60 million yen to the promotion after Sengoku signed
Japanese MMA's biggest blue-chip prospect, 2008 Beijing games judo
gold medalist Satoshi
Ishii. A major logistics company listed on both the Tokyo and
Osaka stock exchanges, it currently shares logo space alongside Don
Quijote on SRC 12's promotional material, indicating its importance
as a major sponsor of the promotion.

An optimistic Mukai thus closed his address with lofty goals in
mind.

“In a few years’ time, we hope to catch up with the UFC in the
United States,” he said, “and hope that in Japan, this event will
eventually gain the attention that baseball and soccer currently
has in the world of sports.”